LogMX Manager Development

Creating your own LogMX Manager

(to handle a new log data source)

Page summary:

• Introduction

•

Eclipse development environment

•

IntelliJ development environment

•

Ant development environment

•

Gradle development environment

•

Maven development environment

• Manager implementation

• Manager test

Useful links:

• LogMX Manager development API

• LogMX Manager development forum

• LogMX Manager class sample

Introduction

LogMX uses Log Managers to read the bytes that will be sent to the Parser in order to extract log entries.

Each Manager is able to read bytes through a specific protocol: one will be able to read from a file on your hard disk, another one from a website (HTTP), another one from SFTP, and so on. LogMX comes with several default Managers:

LocalFileManager to read files from your local disks/media
LocalDirectoryManager to read entire directories from your local disks/media (several files, defined by a filter, merged in a single view)
SFTPFileManager to read files from SFTP
SFTPDirectoryManager to read entire directories from SFTP (several files, defined by a filter, merged in a single view)
FTPFileManager to read files from FTP
FTPDirectoryManager to read entire directories from FTP (several files, defined by a filter, merged in a single view)
FTPSFileManager to read files from FTPS
FTPSDirectoryManager to read entire directories from FTPS (several files, defined by a filter, merged in a single view)
SMBFileManager to read files from CIFS/SMB ("Samba")
SMBDirectoryManager to read entire directories from CIFS/SMB ("Samba") (several files, defined by a filter, merged in a single view)
SCPFileManager to read files from SCP
SocketManager to read from TCP/UDP sockets
HTTPFileManager to read files from HTTP web servers
HTTPSFileManager to read files from HTTPS secured web servers
HTTPServerManager to receive log entries through HTTP (using a small embedded web server)
HTTPSServerManager to receive log entries through HTTPS (using a small embedded web server)
SerialCommManager to receive log entries through Serial Ports (e.g. "COM1", "ttyS0", "/dev/ttyS0", ...)
ElasticSearchManager to read log entries from Elasticsearch
SampleHTTPManager which is a simplified version of HTTPFileManager, coming with its full source code: this Manager is an example of how to write a Manager, its Java source file and class can be found in "managers/" directory of your LogMX distribution

LogMX knows which Manager to use to open a resource thanks to the URL the user specified (or simply because the user chose this Manager in "Open" dialog box).

This page deals with creating your own Manager: you can implement a LogMX Manager by writing only one Java Class. Then compiling this class file in a dedicated LogMX folder will allow you to use this Manager, the same way you use the default Managers.

Eclipse development environment

LogMX distribution includes an Eclipse project to develop Log Managers. Here is how to use your development environment for Eclipse:

Project import
In Eclipse, click on "File" menu, then "Import". Choose "General" > "Existing Projects into Workspace" in the dialog box and click on the "Next>" button.
Click on the "Browse" button (in the upper right corner) and select LogMX directory before clicking the "OK" button. You can unselect "LogMX Parsers" if you don't want to write LogMX parsers (see parser dev). Then click on the "Finish" button.

Eclipse project import
Project configuration (Jar file path)
In the "Package Explorer" view (usually on the left), right click on the new project "LogMX Managers", and select "Properties". In the new dialog box, choose "Java Build Path" on the left, and go to the "Libraries" tab. Double-click the line "LOGMX_HOME/jar/logmx.jar".

[LogMX v5.3.3 or older]: Click on the "Variable" button, then the "New" button. In front of "Name", type "LOGMX_HOME", then click on the "Folder" button to choose your LogMX directory (e.g. "C:\Program Files\LogMX"). Finally, click on "OK" buttons to go back to the "Libraries" tab.

Eclipse project configuration: Build Path
Project configuration (LogMX API Javadoc link)
Always in project properties dialog box, expand the item "logmx.jar" and double-click on "Javadoc location". Click the "Browse" button and select the "help/api" directory of your LogMX distribution. To finish, click on "OK" buttons to go back to Eclipse main window.

Eclipse project configuration: LogMX API Javadoc link
Creating your Manager
In the "Package Explorer" view, right-click on the "src" directory of your project, and then click on the "New" > "Class" option. In the new dialog box, type a package name in front of "Package" (e.g. "my.manager"). In front of "Name", type your Manager class name (e.g. "TestManager"). In front of "Superclass", type "com.lightysoft.logmx.mgr.LogFileManager" (or you can start typing "LogFile" and use Ctrl-Space completion). Ensure option "Inherited abstract methods" is checked, and then click on the "Finish" button.

Manager class creation with Eclipse

You are now ready to implement your manager, see section Manager implementation for more information.

Writing a new Log Manager for LogMX using Eclipse

Manager development with Eclipse (here, LogMX API javadoc helping developper)

You can now test your Manager in LogMX, see Manager test chapter.

IntelliJ development environment

LogMX distribution includes an IntelliJ project to develop Log Managers. Here is how to use your development environment for IntelliJ:

Opening project
To open the IntelliJ project, you have to open the project file "intellij_managers.ipr" in the LogMX "managers/" directory
- On Windows, double-click on this project file.
- On any OS, if an IntelliJ project is already opened, use "File" > "Open". If no project is opened (i.e. welcome screen displayed) click on "Open" option.
Project configuration (JDK selection)
Once the project is opened, you will surely have to make it point to your currently configured JDK: at this time, IntelliJ needs a name for the project's JDK which is specific to your IntelliJ configuration. IntelliJ project embedded in LogMX uses the name "1.7" for its JDK: if yours is not named like this, you will need to set your JDK name in LogMX Managers project to compile it. To set your JDK, you can go to "File" > "Project Structure" > "Project Settings" > "Project". In "Project SDK" section, choose your current JDK (Java 8 or greater). If you don't have any JDK, you can add one now using the button "New" at the right of the JDK selection combo box.
Creating your Manager
In the "Project" tool view (generally on the left), right-click on the "src" directory, and then click on the "New" > "Package" option, then enter a package name for your manager (e.g. "com.mycompany.managers"). Then, always in the "Project" tool view, right-click on the package you have just created, and then click on the "New" > "Class" option. Give a name to your class (e.g. "MyManager"), and choose the Kind "Class".

The first thing to do in your new Manager class is to add "extends LogFileManager" just after your class definition (use <Alt> + <Enter> at the end to automatically import "LogFileManager" from "com.lightysoft.logmx.mgr").

Finally, use <Ctrl> + <I> (or menu "Code" > "Implement Methods...") to start implementing all required methods. You are now ready to implement your manager, see section Manager implementation for more information.

Writing a new Log Manager for LogMX using IntelliJ

Manager development with IntelliJ (here, LogMX API javadoc helping developper)

You can now test your Manager in LogMX, see Manager test chapter.

Ant development environment

LogMX distribution includes an Ant script to build Log Managers. Here is how to build a LogMX Manager using this Ant script:

Creating Manager class file
In "managers/src" directory of your LogMX distribution, create directories matching your packages name (e.g. create "my/manager/" for packages "my.manager"). Create your Java class source file in your package directory (e.g. file "TestManager.java" in "my/manager/"). You are now ready to implement your manager, see section Manager implementation for more information.

Compiling Manager class file
Open a shell in the "managers" directory of your LogMX distribution, and simply type "ant" to compile in "classes" directory all managers present in "src" directory.
Here is the list of all available targets: (use "ant -p" to get it from your shell)

(default target)	build-dev	Build managers for development (no optimize, all debug symbols)
	build-prod	Build managers for production (optimized, no debug symbol)
	clean	Remove all generated class files

You can now test your Manager in LogMX, see Manager test chapter.

Gradle development environment

LogMX distribution includes a Gradle script to build Log Managers. Here is how to build a LogMX Manager using this Gradle script:

Creating Manager class file
In "managers/src" directory of your LogMX distribution, create directories matching your packages name (e.g. create "my/manager/" for packages "my.manager"). Create your Java class source file in your package directory (e.g. file "TestManager.java" in "my/manager/"). You are now ready to implement your manager, see section Manager implementation for more information.

Compiling Manager class file
Open a shell in the "managers" directory of your LogMX distribution, and simply type "gradle" to compile in "classes" directory all managers present in "src" directory.
Here is the list of all available commands:

(default task)	gradle	Build managers for development (no optimize, all debug symbols) (equivalent to "gradle -P dev")
	gradle -P prod	Build managers for production (optimized, no debug symbol)
	gradle clean	Remove all generated class files

You can now test your Manager in LogMX, see Manager test chapter.

Maven development environment

LogMX distribution includes a Maven script to build Log Managers. Here is how to build a LogMX Manager using this Maven script:

Creating Manager class file
In "managers/src" directory of your LogMX distribution, create directories matching your packages name (e.g. create "my/manager/" for packages "my.manager"). Create your Java class source file in your package directory (e.g. file "TestManager.java" in "my/manager/"). You are now ready to implement your manager, see section Manager implementation for more information.

Compiling Manager class file
Open a shell in the "managers" directory of your LogMX distribution, and simply type "mvn" to compile in "classes" directory all managers present in "src" directory.
Here is the list of all available commands:

(default goal)	mvn	Build managers for development (no optimize, all debug symbols) (equivalent to "mvn -P dev")
	mvn -P prod	Build managers for production (optimized, no debug symbol)
	mvn clean	Remove all generated class files

You can now test your Manager in LogMX, see Manager test chapter.

Manager implementation

Writing a LogMX Java Manager consists in creating a Java class that extends the abstract class LogFileManager and implementing its abstract methods.
To get detailed information on these methods you have to implement, see our on-line javadoc or read it from your LogMX distribution (under "help/api").
For a complete example of Manager implementation, see "SampleHTTPManager.java" in directory "managers/src/sample/manager" of your LogMX distribution, or see it online: Manager class sample.
If you have any problem or question, please visit our Manager Development Forum or contact us.

Manager test

Here is how to test your Manager in LogMX:

Manager compilation
Compile your Manager to "manager/classes" (see above to compile it with Eclipse/IntelliJ/Ant/Gradle/Maven).

NOTE: If you have several versions of Java installed, be sure to run LogMX with a Java version greater or equal to the version of the compiler you use to compile your Manager (you can run LogMX with Java 9 to use a Manager compiled with Java 8, but you cannot run it with Java 8 to use a Manager compiled with Java 9).
To get the version you use to run LogMX, go to "Help" menu, "About" option, and click on the blue "i" icon in the left bottom corner: version is specified in front of property "java.version" in the upper table.
To get the version you use to compile your Manager:
  • with Eclipse, right-click on your Eclipse project and select the "Properties" option. Then click on "Java compiler" in the left pane.
  • with IntelliJ, right-click on your IntelliJ module ("Project" tool view) and select the option "Open Module Settings". Then click on "Dependencis" tab.
  • with Ant/Gradle/Maven, check your JAVA_HOME environment variable. If you don't have such a variable, check the JDK directory of your PATH environment variable: type "java -version" in your shell to get this Java version.
Manager installation
In the "Tools" LogMX menu, click on "Options...". In the dialog box that appeared, go to the "Managers" tab and click on the green "+" button on the right. In the new dialog box, select your Manager class in the main tree (as you can see in this dialog box, you can add Managers included in a Jar file).
Of course, you have to do this only once, then LogMX will use this manager if needed.

Manager installation in LogMX

Manager configuration in LogMX
Manager test
To test your manager, click on "File" menu, "Open" option, and select its name in the upper combo box. Then fill the form that describes the resource you want to open with your Manager.
You can also type a URL in the upper address bar of LogMX main window (this URL must begin with your Manager protocol, like "jdbc://" for example).
If you recompile your manager, you will have to restart LogMX to use the last version of your manager (Java stores your Manager class file in a cache for better performance). To open your log file directly at LogMX start-up, you can put its filename in the LogMX command-line arguments (or drop your log file on the LogMX executable).

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